Smile, Wave: Some Exoplanets May Be Able To See Us, Too
John Munson/Cornell University
Three decades after Cornell astronomer Carl Sagan suggested that Voyager 1 snap Earth’s picture from billions of miles away – resulting in the iconic Pale Blue Dot photograph – two astronomers now offer another unique cosmic perspective:
Some exoplanets – planets from beyond our own solar system – have a direct line of sight to observe Earth’s biological qualities from far, far away.
Lisa Kaltenegger, associate professor of astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences and director of Cornell’s Carl Sagan Institute; and Joshua Pepper, associate professor of physics at Lehigh University, have identified 1,004 main-sequence stars (similar to our sun) that might contain Earth-like planets in their own habitable zones – all within about 300 light-years of Earth – and which should be able to detect Earth’s chemical traces of life.
The paper, “Which Stars Can See Earth as a Transiting Exoplanet?” was published Oct. 21 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
“Let’s reverse the viewpoint to that of other stars and ask from which vantage point other observers could find Earth as a transiting planet,” Kaltenegger said. A transiting planet is one that passes through the observer’s line of sight to another star, such as the sun, revealing clues as to the makeup of the planet’s atmosphere.
“If observers were out there searching, they would be able to see signs of a biosphere in the atmosphere of our Pale Blue Dot,” she said, “And we can even see some of the brightest of these stars in our night sky without binoculars or telescopes”.
The iconic “pale blue dot” photograph of planet Earth, which was taken Feb. 14, 1990 by NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft, from a distance of 3.7 billion miles. Now 30 years later, Voyager 1 is nearly 14 billion miles away.
But which stars systems could find us? Holding the key to this science is Earth’s ecliptic – the plane of Earth’s orbit around the Sun. The ecliptic is where the exoplanets with a view of Earth would be located, as they will be the places able to see Earth crossing its own sun – effectively providing observers a way to discover our planet’s vibrant biosphere.
Pepper and Kaltenegger created the list of the thousand closest stars using NASA’s Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) star catalog .
“Only a very small fraction of exoplanets will just happen to be randomly aligned with our line of sight so we can see them transit.” Pepper said. ”But all of the thousand stars we identified in our paper in the solar neighborhood could see our Earth transit the sun, calling their attention.”
“If we found a planet with a vibrant biosphere, we would get curious about whether or not someone is there looking at us too,” Kaltenegger said.
“If we’re looking for intelligent life in the universe, that could find us and might want to get in touch” she said, “we’ve just created the star map of where we should look first.”
This work was funded by the Carl Sagan Institute and the Breakthrough Initiative.
Jeff Tyson
Cornell University
Publication: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slaa161
Source:
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).